A Law Each Day

Friday, February 25, 2022

My permanent Valentine

I really cannot allow this month of February to just pass by without writing about
another subject aside from a “Law Each Day”. The reason is quite obvious,
especially for romantic people who celebrate every February 14 as a special day of
love, or Valentine’s Day. Sometimes the celebration even lasts the whole month,
thus prompting people, especially in social media, to designate February as the
month of “Feb-Ibig.” Indeed, so many posts appear in the internet especially in
Facebook (FB) and Instagram about the romantic experiences and celebrations of
netizens during month.

For me however February is not only a month of love. It is also the month when
my beloved wife of 58 years, Josefina “Josie” Sampedro-Sison, celebrates her
birthday, particularly tomorrow, February 26.

I first met Josie at a party of one of my classmates in Ateneo Law School right
after the Bar Exams when my batch-mates and I started relaxing and enjoying the
night after the grueling and nerve-wracking months of Bar exam preparations and
weeks of tackling the difficult Bar exams questions on various law subjects. I
noticed her right away among the group of girls at the party because of her
matured, dignified and attractive appearance and demeanor which was hard to
ignore. It is like an attractive photo on Facebook with a “Friend Request” which I
cannot help but accept. So, I really tried to look for ways and means to meet and
talk to her. And that opportunity came when a sweet and romantic music started
playing and I was able to convince her to dance with me. This memorable first
dance enabled us to get more acquainted with each that led to frequent dates
thereafter and the eventual termination of my dates with other girls I met before.

From then on, I usually fetched her every day in the afternoon at the Far Eastern
University (FEU) campus where she worked as the Dance Directress of the then
famous and renowned FEU Folk Dance Group which had a triumphant tour of
several European countries particularly in France, and Spain where it picked up
Grand Prizes in the Caceres and the Balearic Folk Dance Competition. In fact,
before I met Josie, she was one of the folk dancers of the FEU Dance Group which
toured Europe presenting Filipino folk dances denominated as “Portrait of a
Filipino as An Artist”

Initially, I just brought her home almost daily by rushing to catch jeepney rides
along Central Market in Quezon Boulevard. Upon arriving at her home, we would
engage in small chats to get more acquainted with each other, then I would go
home.

Later on, when my parents allowed me to use a bantam car, Josie and I would go to
some attractive places in Manila and spend time there getting more acquainted
with each other, particularly at the Rizal Park and Manila Bay walk. Then
occasionally, we eat lunch or early dinner at the iconic Aristocrat Restaurant on
Dewey Boulevard.

Actually, these occasions and meetings were our period of courtship which
eventually became a whirlwind romance as we agreed to get married after just
seven months of getting to know each other. So, after meeting her in May 1964, we
got married in late December of the same year.

The May-December romance was not, after all, a hasty affair that would be
considered a mistake. After our marriage on December 26, 1964 up to now, I
become more and more convinced that I made the right choice. While we
encounter some unavoidable marital spats which are really part of married life, our
marital bond grew stronger through the years of being together. I became more and
more convinced that I married a good, loving, faithful and ideal wife.

At the start, we were both working to earn a living. But when our marital love
started bearing fruits through the birth of our children, Josie decided to give up her
job and devote her life to being a mother and housewife.

As a mother, she primarily took care of our six children (one girl and 5 boys),
making them God-loving, physically strong, healthy and wise. Of course, I also
help in the rearing of our children as head of the family, but I could not have done
my duty without her full cooperation, especially when the children were still
babies. Indeed, I can confidently say that she had done her best as a mother, not
only as wife.

From day one of our married life, we improved and strengthened our marital bond
by joining organizations that promote and preserve strong marital relationship with
God, the “third party” involved in our union. We joined organizations like the
Christian Family Movement (CFM), Center for Family Ministries (CEFAM) and
the Marriage Encounter Movement (ME). There was even a time when we served
as chair-couple of the Marriage Encounter Weekend, where married couples are
trained on how to relate and communicate with God and with each other more
effectively in order to strengthen their union.

And so, as I reminisce on the events of my life with my wife Josie, I am really so
thankful to God for giving her to me as my wife and lifetime partner. She does not
mind that other people will know her present age 82 years because she looks much
younger and she appears to be as capable now as before, when she was conceiving
and giving birth to our six children.

Advanced Happy birthday, Josie! May you and I have a happier, healthier and
longer life together.